Method of making serialized nameplates



Sept- 18, 19 E. T. TURNEY, JR

METHOD OF MAKING SERIALIZED NAMEPLATES Filed Nov. 25, 1960 INVENTOR. EUE: ENE T TURNEY, JR.

ATTORNEY I I United States Patent Ofiice 3,054,172 METHOD OF MAKING SERIALIZED NAMEPLATES Eugene T. Turney, Jr., 1359 Madison St., Hollywood, Fla. Filed Nov. 25, 1960, Ser. No. 71,705 10 Claims. (Cl. 29413) The invention herein disclosed relates to the manufacture of nameplates which are serially numbered or otherwise distinguished in consecutive or sequential order.

Objects of the invention are to eliminate objectionable features experienced under present methods of manufacturing such nameplates by handling them as individual pieces, which have to be fed as such through a stamping machine and then be individually collated and packaged, after which they have to be uncollated to apply them in sequence to the machines or other articles of manufacture for which they are intended.

These objects have been accomplished and other desirable results have been attained by making up the nameplates in continuous strip form, numbering, or otherwise marking this strip with consecutive designations spaced in accordance with the size and shape of the nameplates to be produced and striking out the thus designated outline areas as individual nameplate tabs integrally attached by readily severable portions to the body of the strip, in the nature of a comb from which the tabs may be detached consecutively as individual nameplates.

A further feature of the invention is that the base strip may be backed with a pressure sensitive adhesive covered with a paper or other backing or liner and which may be stripped from the cut tabs as they are ready to be used, thus enabling the nameplates to be directly attached to the goods as they are disconnected from the supporting comb structure.

Additional advantages and further novel features of the invention are disclosed or will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

The drawing accompanying and forming part of this specification illustrates a present practical embodiment of the invention. This however, is subject to modification and change coming within the scope and intent of the invention, all as hereinafter defined and claimed.-

FIG. 1 in the drawing, is a plan or face view of one of the nameplates applied to an object, in this case a typical Polaroid latch.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view as on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, showing the nameplate adhesively secured in the correspondingly shaped seat in the latch member.

FIG. 3 is a broken plan or face view of the adhesive and paper backed metal base strip from which the plates are cut, indicating at the bottom how this strip is first stamped with the serializing numbers and then cut into tab formations attached at one end by reduced breakable sections.

FIG. 4 is a composite view showing the intervening waste portions in the form of a second comb separated and removed from the tab constituted comb.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing how the nameplate tabs may be individually broken away from the supporting comb.-

FIGS. 6 and 7 are enlarged cross-sectional details on substantially the planes of lines 66 and 77 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional detail as on line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

The body strip indicated at 10, from which the nameplates are to be formed may be of aluminum or other material, according to requirements.

In the present disclosure, this base or supply strip is backed up by a protective layer of paper 1 1, or the like, covering the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 12, on the back of the base strip.

This compound strip is stamped in properly spaced relation with sequential designations 13, such as the consecutive numbers indicated and the areas bear-ing these designations are severed on lines 14, outlining tabs 15, which are to become the nameplates but with portions of reduced cross-section as indicated at 16, integrally connecting the tabs with the continuous base portion 17, of the strip.

These reduced integral connecting portions are shown disposed at one end of the tab and as having impressed across the face of the same a line of weakness 18, forming a hinge and enabling the tab to be broken oif on a sharp clean line.

FIG. 4 shows how the cutting of the material between and around one end of the tab leaves a comb 19, of waste material, which can be separated from the supply comb 20, carrying the nameplate tabs.

FIG. 5 shows how the nameplate comb, freed of the waste comb forms a unitary stable supply from which nameplates may be detached as needed by simply bending the tabs 15, along the severance lines 18, the paper backing on such tabs being removed either before or after detaching the tabs from the supply comb.

The nameplates, separated from the comb, may then be applied to the objects for which they are intended by simply pressing them into place, in the case of the latch, such as shown at 21, in FIGS. 1 and 2, having a seat or depression receiving the nameplate and the plate being cut to size to fit into such seat.

As a part of the stamping and cutting operations, or as a later step, the nameplate tabs may be planished to give them a slight concavity on the back as indicated at 22, so that when pressed into final position, they will form a perfect bond with the object to which they are applied, precluding formation of curled edges.

This planishing or transverse curvature of the tabs may be effected in a planishing die forming part of the punch press or special machine in which the consecutive serializing and blanking are accomplished.

'Pilot holes 23, punched in the supply strip in cooperation with pilots provided in the press, automatically index the strip in the press.

In the case of serial number indications, the numbering stamp may be arranged in reverse order, so as to count down and thus provide the strip in correct order for application of serial numbers to the par-ts for which they are intended.

The ability to break the tabs away from the comb is a great advantage since by the simple act of separating the tabs from the comb they may at the same time be detached from the backing, leaving the backing still attached to and forming part of the conrb structure. This enables a user to detach numbered or otherwise embellished tabs as required without the difliculty of separating backing from individual nameplates.

The importance of the planishing step will be appreciated when it is realized that the stamping or embellishing has a tendency to depress the material of the tabs. Planishing these areas returns the material to or beyond the original plane restoring the plate to the normal or natural fiat faced appearance. This convex-concaving action lowering the edges of the tabs provides adhesive confining barriers at the undersides of the tabs and assures these edges holding in close clinging engagement when applied to the supporting article.

While of special advantage for the manufacture of serialized nameplates it will be appreciated the invention is applicable to manufacture of other items which can Pate'nted Sept. 18, 1962 be made up in the form of tabs integrally connected in strip form and detachable as individual units without disturbing the remaining units.

What is claimed is:

1. Method of manufacturing serialized nameplates, comprising stamping serialized designations in spaced relation on the face of an adhesively backed and covered nameplate strip, partially detaching from the strip the areas bearing said designations and leaving said areas in the form of stamped nameplate forming tabs connected with the body of the strip by readily severable integral portions and thereafter bending and breaking said tabs away from the body of the strip at said readily severable portions and removing the covering from the back of the broken away tab and in so doing exposing the adhesive on the back of the detached tab for direct attachment of the separated nameplate forming tab to an article.

2. Method of manufacturing serialized nameplates comprising stamping serialized designations in spaced relation on the face of a nameplate forming strip, partially severing areas of the strip bearing said designations from the body of the strip in the form of nameplate forming tabs integrally connected with the body of the strip and impressing concave curvature in the back of said nameplate forrning tabs.

3. Method of manufacturing serialized nameplates comprising stamping serialized designations in spaced re-.

lation on the face of an adhesively hacked and covered nameplate forming strip, partially detaching areas bearing said designation in the form of nameplate forming tabs and impressing concave curvature into the back of said tabs.

4. Method of manufacturing nameplates comprising stamping impressions in spaced relation on the face of an adhesively backed and covered nameplate strip, partially detaching areas bearing said stamped impressions in the form of nameplate forming tabs and thereafter bending and breaking said tabs away from the body of said strip and away from the covering on said adhesively backed strip.

5. The herein disclosed method of manufacturing nameplates or other articles in strip form ready to be detached individually from the strip and be used as required, comprising severing areas of a strip of flexible sheet material which can be fractured by bending and which has pressure sensitive adhesive with a paper cover on the back thereof, on lines defining the main portions of areas to be removed but connected with the strip by integral portions of lesser width and bending said severed portions away from the strip across said portions of reduced width and thereby breaking said severed areas away from the strip but leaving them adhesively held to the strip by the paper cover on the back of the severed and broken away areas and thereafter peeling said adhesively held severed and broken away areas away from the paper backing to completely separate the severed portions from the strip with the adhesive on the back of the same uncovered and the severed portions thereby ready to be directly applied to other objects.

6. The invention according to claim 5 including the further step of preliminarily creasing the strip across said integral connecting portions of lesser width to provide lines of weakness on which the severed portions will break away from the strip.

7. The method of claim 5 including the further step of concaving the backs of the severed areas.

8. The method of claim 5 including the further feature of severing and removing material of the strip from between adjoining areas to be removed, integrally attached by one edge portion of the strip in the form of a comb of waste material and thereby leaving the areas to be removed separated by the spaces between adjoining areas from which such waste material has been removed.

9. The method of claim 5 including the further feature of removing waste material from between adjoining areas to be removed from the strip, integrally connected in the form of a comb extending along one edge of the strip and leaving the areas to be removed in spaced relation integrally connected with the opposite edge of the strip and forming an opposed comb of useable material.

10. The herein disclosed method of manufacturing nameplates or other articles in strip form ready to be detached individually from the strip and be used as required, comprising separating areas of a strip of flexible sheet material which can be fractured by bending and which has pressure sensitive adhesive with a paper cover on the back thereof, on lines defining the main portions of areas to be removed but connected with the strip by integral portions of lesser strength and bending said separated areas away from the strip across said portions of lesser strength and thereby breaking said outlined areas away from the strip but adhesively held to the strip by the paper cover on the back of the outlined and broken away areas and thereafter peeling said adhesively held outlined areas away from the paper backing to completely separate the outlined areas from the strip with the adhesive on the back of the same uncovered and said areas thereby ready to be directly applied to other objects.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,247,252 P-rice June 24, 1941 2,459,568 Lyon Jan. 18, 1949 2,681,732 Brady June 22, 1954 2,792,623 Melidonis May 21, 1957 2,831,277 Strachan Apr. 22, 1958 

